Snowfall records for Faribault

If you watch the news or go online, you can't help but see images of Boston and most of New England covered in snow. People are posting pictures that show the snow filling in their doorways, and some people have started snowdiving out of their windows for fun, despite officials asking them not to. This got me wondering about Minnesota's record snowfalls.

I contacted Pete Boulay at the Minnesota State Climatology Office. He said that his records show about 3 inches of snow on the ground in the Faribault area currently, which seems about right. Looking back into the archives at times when there were at least 10 inches of snow on a single calender day revealed three stand-out dates.

The most recent was Dec. 9, 2009, when we received 10.5 inches. On Jan. 23, 1982, 15 inches of snow hit the area. Records also show that this was the second round of snow that week, also having had a large snowstorm move through Jan. 20-21. The most snowfall in a single calender day award goes to Feb. 8, 1936, when Faribault is listed as having received 16 inches of snow!

Boulay also told me that from 1960-69 our radio station served as a weather station, which is a fun fact! A huge thanks to Pete Boulay and the Minnesota State Climatology Office for their help!

Photo: K Krage

Here is a photo taken today in Faribault. This has certainly not been a year of 16-inch snowfalls!

For comparison, below is a picture from downtown New Bedford, Mass., which has gotten about 5 feet of snow so far this year.

A large Cat waits to push more snow in New Bedford, Mass., earlier this winter. The region has received 5 feet of snow already this season, much more than it gets most winters. Jon Faria/Townsquare Media